MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 353 
Pie lu:—The shui p‘ing grows in Lei tse [in Shan tung, 
App. 182] in ponds and swamps. It is gathered in the 
3rd month and dried in the sun. 
T‘ao Huna-x1ne :—This is the water-plant called Fe $f 
ta (large) p‘ing, not that plant now called #R 3 fF fou 
(floating) p‘ing tse. The Lei kung yao tui says that it has 
white flowers in the 5th month, but this does not agree with 
the ta p‘ing which is now common in ditches and canals. 
The ta p‘ing is the fruit of the water-plant which the king 
of Chu fell in with when crossing the Kiang (Yang tsz‘).™ 
Ca‘en Ts‘anc-K‘t [8th cent.]:—There are two kinds 
of shui p‘ing. The larger one is called #4 p‘in. It has 
round leaves more than an inch in diameter. The small p‘ing 
tsz‘ is that which is commonly met with in ditches and 
canals, and this latter is the shui p‘ing mentioned in the 
Pen king. 
Su Sune [11th cent.] refers to Rh ya, 113, and notices 
that Su Kune [7th cent.] distinguishes three kinds of shui 
p‘ing,—the larger or pin, an intermediate sort which is called 
4% hang [Limnanthemum. See Classics, 399] and a small 
Kind, 7 $f fou (floating) p‘ing, which floats on the surface 
of the water. Now the p‘in is seldom used in medicine, but 
the fou p‘ing is commonly employed. 
Li Sut-cuen :—The shui p‘ing used in the ancient pre- 
scriptions was the small fou p‘ing not, as T‘ao Huna-Kine 
asserts, the large p‘ing. The fou p‘ing is common in standing 
pools, where it appears at the end of spring. It is believed 
* T‘ao HuNG-King alludes to a tradition related at length in the 
Kia yw (Family Sayings of Confucius): 7 Hj FE, the prince Chao 
of the state of Ch‘u (B.C. 515-489], when once crossing the Kiang ina 
boat, met with a curious water-plant having a large fruit. It was sent to 
Confucius, who declared it to be the fruit of the p'izg plant, which appears 
ae princes destined to become leaders of the empire. 
